Lithographic processes are widely used to selectively mask a portion of a substrate, enabling processing of exposed portions of the substrate without affecting the lithographically masked portion. Photolithography uses a photoresist sensitive to actinic energy exposure. For a positive-tone photoresist, portions exposed to actinic energy are chemical modified as a result of the actinic energy exposure to become more soluble in a developer and are removed during subsequent development processing. Accordingly, interruptions in the chemical mechanism rendering the exposed portions more soluble may prevent removal of desired portions of a photoresist. Accordingly, discovery of residual photoresist portions intended for removal may warrant revision of standard processing techniques to accommodate special circumstances that generated the residue.